Circular

1

b

62a

Group

Registration

of

Newspapers

and

Newsletters

on

Form G/DN

IN GENERAL

This circular provides information about how to register a

group of newspaper or newsletter issues on Form G/DN.

The requirements for group registration of newspapers and

newsletters are different, as explained below.

NEWSPAPERS

A group of newspaper issues may be registered on

Form G/DN only if all the following conditions are met:

1. The work must be a daily newspaper.

2. The claim must include all issue dates within the calendar month within the same year.

3. The applicant must submit a complete month’s issues

in microfilm form, unless specifically exempted.

4. Each issue essentially must be an all-new collective

work.

5. The work must be a work made for hire.

6. The author and claimant must be the same person or

organization.

7. The application must be filed within 3 months after the

last publication date included in the group.

United States Copyright Office
2

What to Deposit—Newspapers

The application must be accompanied by a deposit of a

positive 35mm silver-halide microfilm that includes all issues

within the calendar month. Final editions are required when

two or more daily editions are published. In some cases, the

publisher may be exempted from sending the microfilm by

the Copyright Acquisitions Division of the Copyright Office.

The Copyright Acquisitions Division will notify the publisher

if a newspaper is exempted. For an exempted newspaper,

an optional deposit may accompany the application. This

deposit should consist of (1) complete print copies of the first

and last issues of the month or (2) print copies of the first

section of the first and last issues of the month or (3) print

copies of the first page of the first and last issues of the

month.

NEWSLETTERS

A group of newsletter issues may be registered on

Form G/DN only if all the following conditions are met:

1. The work must be a daily newsletter.

2. The work must be a “work made for hire,” and the author and claimant must be the same person or organization.

3. Each issue must be an essentially all-new collective

work or all-new issue that has not been published

before.

4. The application must be filed within 3 months after the

last publication date included in the group.

5. The claim must include two or more issues within a

single calendar month within the same year.

6. All issues in the group must have been first published

on or after July 1, 1999.

7. The applicant must submit one complete copy of each

issue in the group with the application. The applicant

must also provide one microfilm copy or up to two free

subscriptions, only if specifically requested by the

Copyright Acquisitions Division.

What to Deposit—Newsletters

In all cases, one complete copy of each issue included in

the group must accompany the Form G/DN. If the newsletter is published only online, one complete print-out of each

issue, or a computer disk (or CD-ROM) containing all the

issues and a print-out of the first and last issues included in

the group, must be sent.

Additional material must be sent only if specifically

requested by the Copyright Acquisitions Division. The

request will specify the nature of the additional material,

which will be either (1) one microfilm copy meeting the

specifications given above for newspapers, or (2) one or two

complimentary subscriptions for the Library of Congress.

IMPORTANT: The microfilm or subscriptions should be

sent to a separate address specified in the request from the

Copyright Acquisitions Division. This material should not be

sent with Form G/DN. Unless expressly requested, no microfilm or subscription copies are required.

Newsletter Issues Published Before July 1, 1999

A group of newsletter issues published before July 1,

1999, may be registered using Form SE/GROUP. A

single registration may be made for two or more issues

published in a single calendar month within the same

year. One complete copy of each issue must be deposited with the application Form SE/GROUP. The filing fee is $15 per issue ($45 minimum). Up to two free

subscriptions must be provided, only if specifically requested by the Copyright Acquisitions Division. For

more information about registering newsletter issues

published before July 1, 1999, please call the Examining Division at (202) 707-8250.

DEFINITIONS

What Is a Newspaper?

As defined by the Newspaper Section of the Serials and

Government Publications Division of the Library of Congress, works classified as newspapers are serials mainly

designed to be a primary source of written information on

current events, either local, national, or international in

scope. Newspapers contain a broad range of news on all

subjects and activities and are not limited to any specific

subject matter. Newspapers are intended either for the general public or for a particular group.

What Is a Daily Newsletter?

For registration purposes, a daily newsletter is defined as

“a serial published and distributed by mail or electronic media (online, telefacsimile, cassette tape, diskette, or CDROM). Publication must occur at least 2 days per week, and

the newsletter must contain news or information of interest

chiefly to a special group (for example, trade and professional associations, employees of a corporation, schools,

colleges, and churches).” Daily newsletters are customarily

sold by subscription and are not available on newsstands.

NOTE: GROUP REGISTRATION for newsletters published

weekly or monthly may be available using Form SE/

GROUP. See Circular 62, “Copyright Registration for Serials on Form SE,” for more information.

What Is a Collective Work?

The term “collective work” refers to a work, such as a serial

issue, in which a number of contributions are assembled

into a collective whole.
3

What Is Publication?

The copyright law defines “publication” as “the distribution

of copies or phonorecords of a work to the public by sale or

other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending.”

A work is also “published” if there has been an “offering to

distribute copies or phonorecords to a group of persons for

purposes of further distribution, public performance, or public display.”

What Is a Work Made for Hire?

A “work made for hire” is defined as (1) a work prepared by

an employee within the scope of his or her employment or

(2) a work specially ordered or commissioned for certain

uses (including use as a contribution to a collective work), if

the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by

them that the work shall be considered a work made for hire.

The employer is the author of a work made for hire.

WHAT THE REGISTRATION COVERS

For each issue in the group, registration on Form G/DN includes all the material in which the claimant named at space

2 owns the copyright. This includes the authorship of compiling and editing the work as a whole as well as the content

of any contributions (e.g., text or photos) done by employees of the claimant as “works made for hire.” In addition, it

includes any independently authored contributions (not

done by employees) in which all rights have been transferred to the claimant by the contributors. These other contributions are included even though the individual contributors are not named on Form G/DN. The registration does not

include any independently authored contributions in which

all rights have not been transferred to the claimant.

HOW TO REGISTER

Send the following three items together in the same envelope or package:

1. completed and signed Form G/DN

2. deposit (see above)

3. $55 filing fee

Send this material to:

Library of Congress

Copyright Office

101 Independence Avenue, S.E.

Washington, D.C. 20559-6000

*NOTE: Copyright Office fees are subject to change.

For current fees, check the Copyright Office website

at www.copyright.gov, write the Copyright Office, or

call (202) 707-3000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

Information via the Internet: Frequently requested circulars, announcements, regulations, other related materials,

and all copyright application forms including Form G/DN are

available via the Internet. You may access these from the

Copyright Office website at www.copyright.gov.

Information by fax: Circulars and other information (but not

application forms) are available by using a touchtone phone

to access Fax-on-Demand at (202) 707-2600.

Information by telephone: For general information about

copyright, call the Copyright Public Information Office at

(202) 707-3000. The TTY number is (202) 707-6737. Information specialists are on duty from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.,

eastern time, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays. Recorded information is available 24 hours a day.

Or, if you know which application forms and circulars you

want, request them from the Forms and Publications Hotline

at (202) 707-9100 24 hours a day. Leave a recorded

message.

Information by regular mail:

Library of Congress

Copyright Office

Publications Section, LM-455

101 Independence Avenue, S.E.

Washington, D.C. 20559-6000
Library of Congress • Copyright Office • 101 Independence Avenue, S.E. • Washington, D.C. 20559-6000

c

www.copyright.gov

Rev: June 2002 Web Rev: June 2002 E Printed on recycled paper